Senior Customer Contact Specialist

About Upstart

Upstart is the leading AI lending marketplace partnering with banks and credit unions to expand access to affordable credit. By leveraging Upstart's AI marketplace, Upstart-powered banks and credit unions can have higher approval rates and lower loss rates across races, ages, and genders, while simultaneously delivering the exceptional digital-first lending experience their customers demand. More than 80% of borrowers are approved instantly, with zero documentation to upload.

Upstart is a digital-first company, which means that most Upstarters live and work anywhere in the United States. However, we also have offices in San Mateo, California; Columbus, Ohio; Austin, Texas; and New York City, NY (opening Summer 2026).

Most Upstarters join us because they connect with our mission of enabling access to effortless credit based on true risk. If you are energized by the impact you can make at Upstart, we’d love to hear from you!

The Team:

As a Senior Customer Contact Specialist at Upstart, you’ll be part of a multi-skilled team that supports applicants across phone, email, and other digital channels throughout the pre-origination journey. You’ll handle a wide range of regulatory, general, and complex application-related inquiries, with a primary focus on resolving escalations from our frontline vendor support team. In this role, you’ll serve as a subject matter expert on our products and procedures—answering associate questions in Slack, contributing to scripts and templates, and ensuring every interaction meets our quality, compliance, and SLA expectations.

How you’ll make an impact

• Respond to inbound email/phone inquiries and manage real-time chat support (in future-state implementation), providing accurate, helpful, and timely information.
• Take ownership of escalation calls from applicants requesting a supervisor, resolving concerns professionally while adhering to compliance and policy guidelines.
• Act as a subject matter expert by answering questions from our vendor support teams via slack.
• Support funnel conversion by proactively identifying and addressing common applicant questions or pain points.
• Maintain accurate notes of all applicant interactions to ensure visibility and alignment across teams.
• Identify opportunities to improve CX processes, documentation, or messaging based on recurring feedback or support trends.

Minimum Qualifications (External Posting)

• 1–2 years of experience in customer service and/or contact center support within a financial services or fintech environment.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills, including the ability to explain complex information clearly and professionally.
• Proven ability to handle sensitive or escalated customer conversations with empathy and professionalism.
• Comfortable navigating multiple systems and tools simultaneously (e.g., Salesforce, Vesta, telephony and chat platforms).
• Demonstrated expertise in time management, effectively prioritizing and balancing competing tasks to meet tight deadlines.
• Impeccable judgment and acute attention to detail; ability to identify/anticipate customers’ needs and clarify information.
• Proven track record of excelling in a metric based environment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Financial services industry experience.
• Familiarity with front-line customer support tools and knowledge management platforms.
• Comfort working in high-growth, change-oriented environments where feedback loops are fast and frequent.
• Previous experience providing service for multiple product lines

Position location This role is available in the following locations: Columbus, OH.

Time zone requirements The team operates on the East/West coast time zones.

Travel requirements As a digital first company, the majority of your work can be accomplished remotely. The majority of our employees can live and work anywhere in the U.S but are encouraged to to still spend high quality time in-person collaborating via regular onsites. The in-person sessions’ cadence varies depending on the team and role; most teams meet once or twice per quarter for 2-4 consecutive days at a time.

What you'll love:

• Competitive Compensation (base + bonus & equity)
• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage with Health Savings Account contributions from Upstart
• 401(k) with 100% company match up to $4,500 and immediate vesting and after-tax savings
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP)
• Life and disability insurance
• Generous holiday, vacation, sick and safety leave
• Supportive parental, family care, and military leave programs
• Annual wellness, technology & ergonomic reimbursement programs
• Social activities including team events and onsites, all-company updates, employee resource groups (ERGs), and other interest groups such as book clubs, fitness, investing, and volunteering
• Catered lunches + snacks & drinks when working in offices

This is a Non-Exempt position. Employees in this position are paid an hourly pay rate, on a bi-weekly basis, and are eligible to receive overtime pay for any hours worked over 40 in a work week, or over 8 in a work day if required by state law.

Columbus, OH - Anticipated Hourly Rate Range

$25.48—$25.48 USD

Upstart is a proud Equal Opportunity Employer. Just as we are dedicated to improving access to affordable credit for all, we are committed to inclusive and fair hiring practices.

If you require reasonable accommodation in completing an application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please email [email protected]